Research on the Influence of Biased Technological Progress on Total Factor Productivity of Regional Road Transport in China

The biased technological progress and total factor productivity are indicators to verify the development quality of the road transport industry, and the relationship between technological progress and total factor productivity has an important role in promoting the sustainable development of the road transport industry. Based on the input and output panel data of the road transport industry in 27 provinces from 2001 to 2017, this paper uses the heterogeneous stochastic frontier model (SFA) to measure the total factor productivity and biased technological progress index of the road transport industry in the three major regions of China. The results have shown that changes in total factor productivity vary in time and space. Specifically, total factor productivity is low in 2001-2005 and increases in 2006-2017. In terms of space, it is high in eastern China and low in western China. The impact of biased technological advances on the total factor productivity of road transport industry is different in three regions. Technological advances in the eastern region are biased towards labor, the central region is biased towards capital, and the western region is biased toward energy. The mismatch between technological progress bias and factor endowment structure is an important reason to curb the growth of total factor productivity in the road transport industry.